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Best chess game so far, some big faults...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 55 / 55
Date: October 25, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I've been looking forward to a decent chess game for the DS since I picked it up last year, so I picked this game up on its release day.

The chess game on clubhouse games, even on "hard" is very weak. I can beat it without even paying attention, and I'm no where's near an expert level player.

Anyway, without boring everyone to tears, here's the PRO and CON list:

PRO

* You can have four profiles. Great to have for the kids.
* It has a very strong, and in my opinion, realistic engine.
* You can set up positions for playing against the computer.
* Save game is very useful if others are using the game.
* Can play someone else on a single card (see below for gripe though)
* Movement is so much nicer with a stylus, but the Direction pad
is also an option. You can either drag a piece to its destination,
or you can touch the destination. You also have a choice to confirm
your move to avoid "mouse slips".
* The mini games, like "Fork the Fruit", are actually very good drills.
* Nicely themed chess puzzles too.

CONS

* False advertising. "Players have access to 900 of the most important chess games, which are analyzed to provide key tactics", uh no, there are NO games. This and other features mentioned on the chessmaster site, are not here. They must be for the PC version.
* No online play. Are you kidding me?!
* No ability to set it for two human players on one DS. This seems
like a "way too obvious" feature. I'm truly baffled as to why it's
not on here.
* You can only set up a position to play the computer. That, and the
fact that I can't set the clock to one players advantage, makes it
difficult to have a challenging/fair game with my daughters
* You can't set the clock to add time per move (Fischer Clock)
* Pieces are a bit odd looking, but tolerable.
* "Help" shows a play button, that, while reviewing a game, would let
you play from the current position. It's just not there though.
* The puzzles, though nicely themed, are all one move. Also, I was
having a lot of trouble with one, and had to ask for the answer.
Turns out I was supposed to be playing white from the flip side of the
board. However, it still showed the flip side as being the 8th rank.

Ok, that's a lot of "CONS", and the first three really annoy me. I was so looking forward to having 900 games to go through without sitting at the computer, or setting up a board.

This does give you a great portable chess engine to have a game anywhere you might be. Also, doing all the puzzles repeatedly, and going through the mini games, will give you a fair skillset to destroy the average non-serious player.

Finally, a full chess game for the DS. But it's lacking...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 22 / 24
Date: October 25, 2007
Author: Amazon User

First, before you buy, please note that Chessmaster for the DS *does not* have wifi capabilities. Meaning, if you want to play your friend, he/she will need to be in the same room as you. This is likely the game's biggest flaw, and I'm really surprised that Ubisoft managed to omit wifi play--it's a huge missed opportunity.

There's a lot to like in this game, but it's largely geared toward beginning players. The tutorial is fairly shallow, and the mini-games are gimmicky. I'm not sure how effectively they'll change the way you play chess... or even the way you learn.

Still, with the negatives aside, this game is worth the $[...]. It's the only decent chess game on the DS, and it does have a number of tough and varied computer opponents. I enjoy playing a game of chess on-the-go, and Chessmaster DS is superior to the cellphone version I've been using.

So, for simply playing chess, it's a fun and worthy addition to the DS library. With wifi, however, it could've been amongst the essentials.

This is a great Nintendo DS game.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: January 11, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I cannot understand all the negative feedbacks of this game. UBISOFT has created an easy to understand and fun version of chess. I am a first time chess learner, and this game has clearly shown me the basics in an easy to understand tutorial. The graphics and instructions are excellent as are the sounds. The negative feedback probably came from those who do not know how to use this game or hot shot chess players who want to let others know how much they know and want to rub it in. This is an excellent game for first time learners, like me, and the pros outweigh the cons (I could not find any cons).

Limited Features But Easy to Like

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: February 11, 2008
Author: Amazon User

When I want to play a quick game of Chess, I grab my DS rather than my Dell PDA that has chess software (with many more features available). Why? The interface is easy to use, the display is bright and clear, and if I am interrupted just closing the lid QUICKLY pauses the game. As a member of the US Chess Federation, its chess ability is a limiting factor but the built-in rating system is FUN as you play pseudo-humans complete with their photos.

The mini-games are helpful exercises in recognizing patterns (a big key to improving your chess). Recognizing forks, pins, and simple checkmates are the basis for a sound understanding of chess.

Not so good - no separate time settings to handicap players, the game startup sequence is poorly impremented, there is no way to save a completed game to analyze later (better save it just before the checkmate!), and its of no use if you want to play another human without their having a DS with ChessMaster.

But I certainly have fun with it!!

Buggy Chess Engine

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: May 14, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I've been looking forward to chess game for the DS and I thought the Chessmaster game would be perfect. I started a profile and have played up through 'Kenji'. I believe the Kenji profile and beyond plays a somewhat realistic chess match, though it still has some problems. A couple key issues I've found:

- The computer appears to play the same opening, no variance. Once you play a game that beats an opponent, then the same game can be played with the same results. They should have put in a simple opening book with some variance. This would make playing the same opponent last a bit longer. Using different time settings will alter AI play.
- Always set a game time in rated play, there are instances where the AI will just hang and there is no way to force moves in a rated game. Here is a game I played against Kenji that caused the AI to hang:

[White "Drew F."]
[Black "Chessmaster (Kenji)"]
[Result "1-0"]
1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 e6 3. Bg2 d5 4. cxd5 Nd7 5. dxe6 fxe6 6. Nc3 c6
7. Nf3 e5 8. d3 Bd6 9. O-O Qe7 10. Bg5 h6 11. Bd2 e4 12. dxe4 Nxe4
13. Nxe4 Qxe4 14. Bc3 Qe7 15. Re1 Rg8 16. e4 Nb6 17. Qb3 Qxe4??
18. Rxe4

This was a 20 minute rated game, at this point, Kenji still had 11 minutes on his clock and he ran out of time. Something fried when Kenji blundered on move 17 and I had to wait for the time to run out, this would have been more annoying if I didn't set a time control.

- There isn't a way to replay a set up position, so you are forced to set up the position again.

Nice chess title for the Nintendo DS

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: March 14, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I actually bought my Nintendo DS Lite for this game and the Brain Age products. I have been a USCF tournament player for 20 years and at one time had a rating over 1600. My rating has declined in recent years as my available time to devote to the game has dwindled. Chessmaster on the DS is aimed mainly at beginners and casual players. While there is no choice in the board or pieces both are nice looking and easy to see. The tutorials are basic but complete. I haven't spent a lot of time on the exercises but they are fun and would undoubtedly be useful to a beginning player. I jumped right in to rated games against the highest rated opponents. One thing I noticed is the claimed ELO ratings of the players appears to be 100-200 points higher than they actually play. Also each player uses the same opening for every game. They use different ones among the players but each player has his own favorite opening. The response time of the highest rated opponents can be several minutes in untimed games. I have beaten all but the last two opponents and expect them to fall when I have more time to play with it. As other's note, the claimed 900 games are nowhere to be found. That's no real biggie as I have over a million games avaible in the Big Database for Fritz 9. I would have liked a stronger engine and faster response time. The Chessmaster personality has beaten me a couple of times but I know he's going to fall. I blame my losses partly on unfamliarity with the board and distractions while playing. Despite my criticisms I like the game. I looked at some of the dedicated handheld chess machines but this seemed like a better option. If you're not over 1500 USCF and are looking for a nice chess title for your Nintendo DS this would be a very nice addition to your game library.

Good idea, poor execution :(

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: October 25, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I like chessmaster in general, and was looking forward to this game for the DS. Unfortunately, it didn't have the library of classic games that I saw advertised in places, nor are there any advanced teaching lessons.
Other reviews go more in depth about some of the shortcomings (seriously... no over-the-internet play??), but there are also some other bothersome design choices.
One example is that you have to choose your language every time you start the game. Then you have to touch the screen to start. Then you choose your profile. It seems that if you started with the profile screen, then you could avoid the others... Oh well.
To be honest, the only reason I gave the game three stars instead of two stars is because there's no other chess games for the DS, and I'm glad to finally have one.

OK, considering the platform it's on

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: January 10, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game for my DS about a month ago because it was (and is) the ONLY chess game available for the DS. Amazon is giving out a bad product description though, because there is NO 900 game annotated database.

What is available though is a decent enough chess game with multiple (if recycled) Chessmaster "personalities" to play against. There is also a rudimentary section that teaches the very basics of chess, including board setup, piece movement rules and special rules, plus small sections explaining skewers, pins and forks. There is no tutorial section per say, just a series of explanatory screens that explain the concepts and give chessboard screens to illustrate them.

New to the Chassmaster series and in my opinion most of the fun here is the mini game concept. There are several mini games available that are chess based, but quick and fun to play. These include a forking game, and minefield clearing game, a chain reaction game, a "Masterpiece" game in which your correct moves reveal an underlying painting, and my personal favorite a pawn removal game using a knight called "Breaking the Lines". These games are fast a friendly and yet help reinforce chess concepts as you play them.

All in all, if you are looking for a strong tutorial to the game of chess, this is not your ticket. The Nintendo DS platform really doesn't have the horsepower to provide that anyway. This game is great for simply playing some chess against either the CPU, or you can also play against another human by means of the Nintendo DS connect facility. The inclusion of online WiFi play would have been nice, but the Chessmaster series is not known for strong online play anyway. For that, what you want is a PC Fritz game. Personally I think this title is overpriced by $10 because at $29.95, it should have at least had WiFi in my opinion. Without it and considering that it only plays 2D chessboards and lacks tutorials, $19.95 would have been a fairer price. Still, I bought it anyway and I don't regret it because as I said it is the ONLY chess title currently available for the Nintendo DS platform.

Not bad

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: July 10, 2008
Author: Amazon User

If you are choosing between buying this for your Nintendo DS or for your PC, obviously go with the PC. The AI in the DS version leaves much to be desired. It is a much simpler, trimmed-down variation.

With that said, however, for a small, compact and portable chess game that you can play virtually anywhere, Chessmaster on DS is pretty excellent. Some common complaints include: You cannot play a friend by handing the DS back and forth; you cannot give one person more time than the other on the clock. Two of my own complaints are that the "people" in the game (programmed personalities accompanied by a photo) tend to respond to the same move in exactly the same way (not so on the PC version). This takes a lot of fun out the game. Also, you cannot set the clock below 10 minutes. My biggest complaint of all is that you have to go through far too many screens to get to rated play. There should be an icon that takes you straight to it. Also, you should NOT have to select what language you want EVERY time you turn the game on. Ridiculous. On the plus side, moving the pieces with the stylus is a lot of fun. I also really like the graphics, the way the pieces look--simple, but elegant. I also really like the optional music that you can have on while you play. Very suiting.

Excellent Game with minor flaws - Highly Recommended

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 13
Date: December 10, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I purchased this game for the PC so I did not experience the problems some mention for the DS. I did download the game via Ubisoft and did experience an issue with the PDF documentation not correctly being installed but after visiting the Ubisoft support website downloaded it manually and this worked for me just fine. There are also some minor flaws in some of the tutorials that do not seem to be free of bugs but this did NOT take away from my enjoyment of those tutorials but it is why I only give the game a 4 star rating.

Apart from these issues above the game is wonderful, and it has brought my joy of the game of Chess once again. The PC version has so much content in terms of lesson plans from various teachers, for beginners, to more advanced theories. There is also a database of past famous games with comments that will provide lots of insights.

I particular like Josh Waitzkin Academy where he will give you his approach to the game as well as some fundamental approaches to the game. His insight and philosophy will help redirect previous frustrations in looking at chess from a satellite view.

In the learning aspect of the game there are many tools, games and puzzles to get you familiar with the principles taught which I have found keep me coming back to play each evening.

For those who are learning and want to renew their passion in chess I highly recommend this game, do check and make sure you PC meets the minimum system requirements first.

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